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The Messenger

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The Messenger THE MESSENGER No. 35-March 1984 Report on the First ESO-CERN Symposium on "Large Scale Structure of the Universe, Cosmology and Fundamental Physics" G. Setti, ESO The first ESO-CERN Symposium was held at CERN, deuterium, were produced when the age of the Universe was Geneva, from 21 st to 25th November 1983 and was attended only about 100 seconds, the temperature about one billion by approximately 200 participants. The discussions concen­ degrees and the density of the order of the density of water, in trated on the general field of Cosmology, where the progress a phase that lasted about 8 minutes. At that moment the made in the past twenty years, both in elementary particles Universe was essentially a gaseous mixture composed of and astronomy, has shown that these two fields of basic protons, neutrons, electrons, positrons, neutrinos and anti­ research are merging toward a new and fundamental under­ neutrinos (and perhaps some other exotic particles, such as standing of the laws that govern our Universe. A detailed photinos) immersed in a heat bath of photons. The equilibrium account is contained in the Proceedings of the Symposium between these components is maintained by the weak which will be available in a few months. interaction, one of the four fundamental forces wh ich are The meeting was started with an introductory lecture by believed to govern all natural phenomena.* The weak force D. W. Sciama (Oxford and Trieste) who highlighted the numer­ together with the "hot big-bang" model allows definite predic­ ous and fundamental problems the understanding of which tions about the abundances of primordial elements. As appears to require ajoint effort of particle physicists, astrophy­ pointed out by J. Audouze (Paris), this astrophysics model sicists and cosmologists. limits the number of neutrino types to no more than 4, wh ich is As discussed by L. Woltjer (ESO) ,the astronomical observa­ al ready significantly better than the upper limit of about twenty tions have shown that the Universe is not only expanding, but obtained in particle physics experiments (data on zo decay also strongly evolving in the sense that the physical properties obtained at CERN). Another important constraint that stems of the galaxies have changed with time. For instance, it has from primordial element abundances is that the present been discovered that certain classes of objects, such as radio galaxies and quasars, were more numerous and probably more powerful in the past than they are now. This, together • The four fundamenlai forees are: Ihe electromagnetic force, whleh aels among eleelrieally eharged particles and is transmltled by Ihe pholon (il govems with the discovery of the properties of the so-called universal the slrueture of the atom); the weak force, whieh aels on leplons and hadrons background radiation, has led to the conclusion that the and is transmitled by the bosons W·. W-, Z· (il is responsible for the beta deeay Universe can be described by the most simple homogeneous of radioaelive elemenls); the strang force, whleh aels on hadrons and is and isotropie models of General Relativity, whereby it has Iransmitled by partieles ealled pions and kaons (11 is responsible for Ihe nuelear forees Ihal keep logelher the protons and neutrons in Ihe atomle nuelei; Ihe evolved from a very condensed and very hot phase about 20 slrong inleraelion among the quarks, whieh are supposed to be Ihe eonsliluents billion years ago-the "hot big-bang". This interpretation has of Ihe protons and neutrons. is due to partlcles ealled gluons); and Ihe an additional attraction: it can explain in a very natural way the gravitational force, whieh aets on everything and is Iransmilted by apartieie abundances of certain elements, wh ich would be extremely ealled graviton. [fhe leptons include Ihe eleelron. Ihe muon and Ihe lau partieles and Ihe Ihree difficult to account for by the nuclear processes taking place in eorresponding Iypes of neuirinos. The hadrons include Ihe baryons (whleh stars. Accordingly, the bulk of elements, such as helium and ultimalely deeay inlo proions) and Ihe mesons.] density of baryonic matter in the Universe cannot be more than massive stars with a mass of about one million times the mass about 10% of the "c1osure" density, that is to say, the density of the Sun, has been proposed. To illustrate how unsatisfac­ which divides the model universes derived from general tory the situation is, it suffices to remark that the masses relativity into "open" and "closed". If the density is less than involved in these different proposals extend over a range of at the c10sure density then the Universe is "open" and will least seventy orders of magnitude! expand forever to infinity or, vice-versa, it will reach a max­ A very important theoretical development has taken place in imum size at some time in the future and will then recollapse the past few years with the application of the concepts of under the action of its own gravity. In principle, it should be grand unified theories of physics (GUTs) to cosmology. To possible, by means of astronomical observations, to find out in highlight this let us first briefly summarize some of the basic what kind of universe we live. In practice, however, this entails problems facing the cosmologists. the use of a class of astronomical objects (such as galaxies of Strangely enough, the first problem comes about because a certain type) which should be bright enough to permit a the Universe looks so isotropie. Observations of galaxies and mapping of the Universe in depth and whose intrinsic proper­ extragalactic radio sources (radio galaxies and quasars) ties do not change with the cosmic time. As discussed by A. show that the distribution of condensed matter in space, aside Sandage (Pasadena), despite great efforts it has not yet been from local irregularities, is isotropie to better than one part in a possible to separate the evolutionary effects from those due to hundred. But a much stricter limit is derived from the observa­ the geometry of the Universe. The solution to this fundamental tions of the 3°K universal radiation which, as reported by D. T. problem has probably to await the advent of both the Space Wilkinson (Princeton), appears to be intrinsically isotropie on Telescope and the large telescopes of the future, such as the all angular scales to better than one part in ten thousand. VLT. However, in the framework of the standard "hot big-bang" That most of the matter in the Universe may indeed be in model it can be shown that two hypothetical observers placed, non-Iuminous form has been convincingly argued by S. Faber say, 1800 apart in the sky at a distance corresponding to the (Liek Observatory) on the basis of observations of different last moment in which the universal radiation interacted with types of galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies. It appears ordinary matter, could not have communicated with each as though in these different types of astronomical conditions other. Technically speaking, this is equivalent to saying that ordinary visible matter makes up only about 10% of the total the "horizons" of the two observers, whose radii increase with mass involved. The nature of this "dark" matter has been the the speed of light (the maximum possible speed), were still weil subject of many speculations and everything, from certain separated. Now the isotropy problem arises because it is types of elementary particles, to mini black-holes, up to very difficult to see how regions of space which had no time from The ESO guesthouse in Santiago where the visiting astronomers are happy to rest (or one day after more than 20 hours in a plane. 2 the moment of the original explosion to come into physical interaction can look so similar, as indicated by the isotropy Tentative Time-table of Council Sessions measurements mentioned above. The second problem, which in technical terms is known as and Committee Meetings in 1984 the "flatness" problem, is directly related to the density of matter in the Universe. It arises from the simple observation April 13 Seientifie Teehnieal Committee that any deviation of the matter density from the "closure" May 22 Users Committee density increases with cosmic time. Thus, if the present May 23 Finanee Committee density of the Universe is only about 10% of the closure June 4-5 Observing Programmes Committee June 6 Committee of Couneil, Geneva density-as indicated by observations of the content of June 7 Couneil, Geneva baryonic matter-at the time when the Universe was only Oetober 8 Seientifie Teehnieal Committee, Chile about 100 seconds old (or when the compression factor was November 13-14 Finanee Committee - 10 billion), the density of matter deviated from the closure November 27-28 Observing Programmes Committee density only by one part in one hundred thousand. Most November 28 Committee of Couneil researchers consider this fine-tuning very unnatural and, November 29-30 Couneil consequently, believe that the matter density must have All meetings will take plaee at ESO in Garehing unless stated always been very close to the "closure" density. otherwise. The third problem is concerned with the apparent asym­ metry in the matter/anti-matter content of the Universe, that is to say, with the evidence that the Universe is essentially composed of baryons. In the simple standard "hot big-bang" model, there is no reason to think that initially at least the picture, these extremely high energies are reached naturally at Universe was not highly symmetric, with equal numbers of the very beginning of the life history of the Universe, when its baryons and anti-baryons in equilibrium with the radiation age was less than about 10-35 seconds.
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